August 2009 New Specialty Toys — Developmental Toys

The Baby Activity Birdhouse includes five sides of fun. Each side features a new activity, including find the owl, peek-a-boo birdie, slide-along bugs, put-and-take pocket bird, and a mirror on the bottom. The birdhouse chimes as it swings from the included link. "This easy to take-along toy is truly packed with baby-exploration, including seven activities total," Nicole Tiedemann, PR account executive for International Playthings LLC, told TDmonthly. Launch date: 2009.

The bright green inchworm’s segmented body offers many different sights, sounds, activities and textures. Baby can gaze at the smiling face, with its high-contrast eyes and soft, teethable antennae. The symmetrical face is designed to have a calming effect on baby. The activity center has a baby-safe mirror outlined in black and white stripes, and the inchworm’s multi-textured features foster tactile exploration, which encourages brain development. A convenient snack segment flips open and can be stocked with small snack foods to encourage development of baby’s pincer grasp. Babies can push a leaf to hear “moving” classical music, including the “William Tell Overture” and silly sounds. A bumblebee on the base clicks when baby dials. It has high contrast stripes and bright orange silky wings that crinkle to the touch. The toy attaches to all strollers using Velcro® straps. Launch date: July 2009.

This aquarium crib toy features a bold, bright spectrum of colors to help baby develop visual perception. A school of fish in a variety of silky, nubby, fuzzy, smooth and bumpy textures enhances baby’s tactile experience as the reaches out to touch them. Classical music and tonal sounds encourage development of listening/hearing skills. This crib toy offers pleasing sounds to encourage motor and cognitive processing. Adjustable elastic straps make it easy to attach to a variety of cribs with different rail widths and to put the action at the right height for baby. It can also be used for floor play when baby is old enough to sit up. "This toy stimulates baby's vision and tactile development with many colors, patterns and textures," Peggy Barrett, PR consultant for Barrett Marketing Communications, told TDmonthly. Launch date: July 2009.

Butterfly Puzzles are Consumer Product Safety Commission 2009 tested and approved. All Wee Organics products are hand rubbed with natural oil that is FDA approved. Designed for early learning, the 7" x 5" puzzles measure are 1" thick, and each of the four to five pieces is 2" to 3" high. Wee Organics recommends that parents help their child initially and then let them progress on their own. "Wee Organics hand rubs each wood piece for a smooth, tactile experience. Each puzzle can also stand up on its own," Ed Bogosian, president of Wee Organics, told TDmonthly. Launch date: 2004.

This behavorial modification device is designed to teach children acceptable sleep patterns by displaying a sun face for day and a moon face for night. It can be preset to any times, depending upon the schedule that parents set for their children. The sun caricature brightens the room in the morning, letting kids know it is time to get out of bed; the moon signifies that it is "time to rest." The programmable light measures 6" in diameter.